Printer for tinning lines



1366- 1969 P. F. BALDWlN PRINTER FOR TINNING LINES .2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 2'7, 1965 FIG] lnvenfor PHILIP FRANK BALDWIN m '2 2w y 62 A ENT Dec. 2, 1969 P. F. BALDWIN I 3,481,816

PRINTER FOR TINNING LINES Filed Dec. 27, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnvenfor PHILIP FRANK BALDWIN by: am ks AGENT United States Patent 3,481,816 PRINTER FOR TINNING LINES Philip F. Baldwin Burlington, Ontario, Canada, assignor to The Steel Company of Canada, Limited, Hamilton,

Ontario, Canada, a Canadian company Filed Dec. 27, 1965, Ser. No. 516,445 Int. Cl. B41f 3/46, 3/06 US. Cl. 156-345 7 Claims This invention relates to a printing or marking apparatus and in particular relates to an apparatus for the printing of an identification marking on the surfaces of tin plate.

It is known in the prior art to achieve such marking on the surfaces of tin plate by etching with a printing solution that is fed through a head or onto a rotating rubbercoated wetting roll which is in contact with a steel transfer roll which in turn is in contact with and transfers the solution to a rubber-covered printing roll and then ontO the plate. The printing operation is carried out as a step in a conventional tinning line for plate strip, the printers being located after the plating tanks and prior to the reflow towers. Where the printing solution has been in contact with the plate, subsequent refiowing of the tin i prevented and a dull etched mark is evidenced on the plate.

In known printing apparatuses of the type herein referred to, it is necessary to change the printing roll for every marking change required. Therefore, in practice, spare rolls have to be constantly set up with the necessary identification marking required to suit the tin plate production schedule and, when marking is required, the marking or printing apparatus is moved into contact with the plate strip. Experience has shown that even with spare rolls set up in accordance with the tin plate production schedule,

as much as a half an hour of time may be expended in the changing and positioning of rolls to provide the necessary marking.

According to the present invention, the necessity of setting up spare rolls and of moving the marking apparatus into and out of position is obviated by providing an apparatus consisting of a frame support to which is secured a printing roll having a plurality of annular ridges each of which will be in contact with the plate strip as it moves along the production line, the frame also supporting a transfer roll having a plurality of annular ridges in alignment and in contact with the ridges of the printing roll. Further, a cam roll with adjustable lobes is mounted on the frame and a plurality of bearing-mounted rockers each having three arms are supported by the frame. At the end of one arm of each rockerv is a sponge saturated with printing solution, the end of another arm of each rocker acts as a cam follower to make contact with a lobe of the cam roll, and the end of the remaining third arm of each rocker is connected by means of a spring to the frame. The spacing of the members is such that the solution-saturated sponge supported by each rocker will be in contact with an annular ridge of the transfer roll whereby printing solution will be transferred to the ridges of the printing roll and onto the tin plate unless the cam follower arm of the rocker is in contact with a lobe of the cam roll in which case the sponge of that rocker will be held away from the transfer roll and no solution will be transferred by means of the transfer and printing rolls onto the plate. By preadjusting the position of the lobes of the cam roll, all the necessary marking combinations may be obtained and, since the positioning of the apparatus as a whole is not affected in setting the cam roll lobes and the lobes themselves are either in or out of operation thus requiring no fine adjustment, marking identification changes may be efiected quickly and efficiently.

Further, a wiper device may be connected to the frame whereby on changing the position of the cam roll lobes the transfer roll ridges and the printing roll ridges may be wiped clean of printing solution.

Moreover, a trough containing printing solution may be provided in which the sponges will always be at least partially immersed to maintain them in a wet and operative condition.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of the major components of a printing apparatus embodying the Invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the description thereof.

The printing apparatus comprises a frame generally located at 1, to which is rotatably connected a cylindrical printing roll 2, a cylindrical transfer roll 3, a cylindrical cam roll 4, and a group of rockers which, for the purpose of illustrating and describing the invention, have been confined to four in number in the drawing and have been designated 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d. Also, a wiper 6 is pivotally connected through an arm 7 and a pin 8 to the frame 1, and a printing solution trough 9 is secured to the frame.

Bearings 10, one of which is shown, provide the mounting whereby the printing roll 2 may be rotated by a suitable drive arrangement 11 to cause the printing roll to have a peripheral tangential velocity equal to the velocity of the plate strip 12 as it travels along the tinning line. Around the periphery of the printing roll 2 are a number of ridges 13a, 13b, 13c and 13d made of rubber or like material, these ridges always being in contact with the plate strip 12 as it travels along the tinning line.

Bearings 14, one of which is shown, provide the mounting whereby the transfer roll 3 may rotate. Around the periphery of the transfer roll are a number of ridges 15a, 15b, 15c and 15d made of metallic or plastic material, these ridges being arranged to be in alignment With the ridges 13a, 13b, 13c and 13d, respectively, with one ridge in each family of ridges always in contact with its corresponding ridge in the other family of ridges. The transfer roll 3 is not positively driven but is an idler roll that rotates due to the friction existing between the surface of its ridges and the surface of the ridges on the printing roll.

Pillow blocks 16, one of which is shown, provide the means whereby the cam roll 4 may rotate although during the printing operation this roll is stationary and locked in position. The shaft forming the axle upon which the cam roll rotates is extended through one of the blocks 16 to allow a pointer 17 and a hand wheel 18 to be affixed thereto. A dial 19 is secured to the block 16 adjacent the shaft-mounted pointer 17 and a spring-loaded pin 20 is mounted in the block 16, the pin 20 being located to be engageable with each in turn of a series of holes 21 located in annular form around the periphery of the shaft whereby the cam roll may be locked in position by the engagement of the pin 20 with one of the holes 21.

The surface of the cam roll 4 contains a number of slots 22 each of which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cam roll. In each slot are a number of removably securable lobes 23 and spacers 24 so arranged that the lobes may be aligned with the rockers 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d, respectively.

Each of the rockers 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d is mounted on a shaft 25 with a sliding fit thereby enabling the rocker to rotate relative to the shaft. The rockers are generally T-shaped, and each has an arm 26 the end of which is connected by a spring 27 to the frame 1, and an arm 28 the end of which is formed in the shape of a receptacle 29 to hold a sponge or felt pad 30, and an arm 31 the end of which is engageable with a lobe of the cam roll dependent upon the positioning of the cam roll and lobes for a particular printing sequence. The rockers are spaced along the shaft 25 so as to be in alignment with the ridges 15a, 15b, 15c and 15a of the transfer rOll. Thus, when the arm 31 of a rocker is not in contact with a lobe 23, the spring force exerted on arm 26 causes the rocker to rotate to bring the pad 30 on the end of arm 28 into contact with the ridge on the transfer roll that corresponds to the rocker, i.e., rocker a engages ridge a which in turn engages ridge 13a. However, when arm 31 is in contact with a lobe 23 the rocker rotates in opposition to the spring force and the pad 30 is held free of contact with its corresponding ridge 15a, 15b, 15c or 15d as the case may be.

The trough 9 contains a printing solution such as sodium dichromate or the like, the level of which is controlled by the conventional inverted bottle technique in which the atmospheric pressure on the surface of the liquid in the open trough balances the head of liquid feeding from the bottle by virtue of the partial vacuum existing in the bottle. The pads 30 are positioned to be always partially immersed in the liquid thereby insuring that they are continually in a wetted condition.

The wiper 6 is arcuate in form and because of the pivotal connection of the wiper to the supporting arm 7 it is self-aligning to make contact with the ridges of both the transfer roll and the printing roll when it is lowered to wipe the ridges clean of printing solution, to allow the operator to reset the printing apparatus, and to start a new marking identification pattern.

To prepare the invention for use the lobes 23 and the spacers 24 are arranged in the slots 22 and secured into position, the arrangements of lobes and spacers being predetermined to establish all the identification marking combinations desired.

When it is desirable to print an identification marking on the plate strip, the operator releases the locking pin and, by means of the hand wheel 18, rotates the cam roll 4 to the desired position as indicated by the relationship of the pointer 17 and the dial 19. This cam roll setting establishes the attitude of the rockers 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d and in turn establishes which of the pads will be in contact with its corresponding transfer roll ridge thereby wetting the respective ridge with the printing solution. Next the operator starts the drive 11 to cause the printing roll 2 to rotate at a rate to give the ridges 13a, 13b, 13c and 13d a peripheral tangential velocity to match the velocity of the plate strip, the transfer roll 3 being an idler roll and being frictionally engaged by the printing roll also starting to rotate causing the pads 30 to wipe the transfer roll ridges completely. The wet transfer roll ridges in turn wet the printing roll ridges. Finally, through any suitable conventional means, the operator moves the invention into position to bring the printing roll ridges 13a, 13b, 13c and 13d into contact with the plate strip 12 held in position by backup roll 32 and marking of the strip will take place. As illustrated in the drawing, ridges 13a, 13b and 13c will print a mark on the strip and ridge 13d will not, this following from the fact that rocker 5d is positioned by a lobe on the cam roll to hold its pad 30 out of contact with transfer roll ridge 15d which therefore remains dry as does printing roll ridge 13d.

When a change of identification marking is desired, it is merely necessary to Wipe the transfer roll ridges and printing roll ridges clean with the wiper 6, to change and reset the position of the cam roll, and then to proceed with the new marking.

From the foregoing description of the apparatus of the present invention and its method of operation, it can be seen that changing from one identification marking to another can be accomplished in an expeditious and efficient manner and requires no interchanging of any major component of the apparatus. Thus, the invention requires a minimum of set up and alignment as it need not be repositioned as a whole to attain the identification marking change required; this being a major defect of presently existing printing apparatus as hereinbefore referred to.

construing the foregoing description as illustrative of the invention, the inventive features in which the exclusive property is claimed are defined in the subjoined claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An apparatus for depositing a printing solution on a moving plate strip comprising, in combination: a frame, a first rotatable cylndrical member including a plurality of annular printing means engageable with the plate strip whereby the printing solution is deposited on the plate strip, a second rotatable cylindrical member including a plurality of annular transfer means engageable with the annular printing means whereby the printing solution is transferred to the annular printing means, a plurality of printing solution source means engageable with the annular transfer means, a plurality of reciprocable members secured to the printing solution source means whereby the printing solution source means may be positioned to engage or disengage the annular transfer means, and a third rotatable cylindrical member including a plurality of lobes engageable with the reciprocable members whereby the positioning of the reciprocable members and thereby the printing solution source means may be controlled to selectively engage and disengage each of the printing solution source means and annular transfer means thereby in turn controlling the deposit of printing solution on the plate strip.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 which includes a wiping means to remove the printing solution from the printing means and the transfer means.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 which includes a drive means for rotating the first cylindrical member.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3 which includes a wiping means to remove the printing solution from the printing means and the transfer means.

5. An apparatus for depositing a printing solution on a moving plate strip as claimed in claim 1 in which said first cylindrical member annular printing means are annular knife-like ridges engageable with the plate strip whereby the printing solution is deposited on the plate strip, said second cylindrical member annular transfer means are annular ridges the surface of each of which is engageable with one of the knife-like annular ridges of the first cylindrical member whereby the printing solution is transferred from a ridge on the second cylindrical member to a knife-like ridge on the first cylindrical member, a drive means for rotating the first cylindrical member, a multi-lobed adjustable cam means, a plurality of multi-armed reciprocable bearing mounted rocker means having a first arm engageable with a lobe of the cam means and having a second arm including a means for holding a printing solution receptacle engageable with an annular ridge of the second rotatable cylinder and having a third controlling arm, a spring having an end connected to the frame and another end connected to the controlling arm, a hand wheel secured to the cam means whereby the cam may be positioned to cause engagement and disengagement of a lobe of the cam and a first arm of a rocker means which in turn will cause engagement and disengagement of a printing solution receptacle and an annular ridge of the second rotatable cylinder whereby the printing solution is transferred to the annular ridge of the second cylinder and to the corresponding knife-like ridge of the first cylinder and onto the plate strip.

5 6 6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 which includes a References Cited wiper removably connected to the frame and engageable UNITED STATES PATENTS with the knife-like ridges of the first rotatable cylinder 2,803,078 8/1957 Coughfin 156 345 and the ridges of the second rotatable cylinder.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6 which includes 5 JACOB STEINBERG, Primary Examiner a pointer and a dial to visually indicate the position of the US. Cl. X.R.

V multi-lobed adjustable cam. 117-43; 118-211, 255 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR DEPOSITING A PRINTING SOLUTION ON A MOVING PLATE STRIP COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: A FRAME, A FIRST ROTATABLE CYLINDRICAL MEMBER INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ANNULAR PRINTING MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH THE PLATE STRIP WHEREBY THE PRINTING SOLUTION IS DEPOSITED ON THE PLATE STRIP, A SECOND ROTATABLE CYLINDRICAL MEMBER INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ANNULAR TRANSFER MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH THE ANNULAR PRINTING MEANS WHEREBY THE PRINTING SOLUTION IS TRANSFERRED TO THE ANNULAR PRINTING MEANS, A PLURALITY OF PRINTING SOLUTION SOURCE MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH THE ANNULAR TRANSFER MEANS, A PLURALITY OF RECIPROCABLE MEMBERS SECURED TO THE PRINTING SOLUTION SOURCE MEANS WHEREBY THE PRINTING SOLUTION SOURCE MEANS MAY BE POSITIONED TO ENGAGE OR DISENGAGE THE ANNULAR TRANSFER MEANS, AND A THIRD ROTATABLE CYLINDRICAL MEMBER INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF LOBES ENGAGEABLE WITH THE RECIPROCABLE MEMBERS WHEREBY THE POSITIONING OF THE RECIPROCABLE MEMBERS AND THEREBY THE PRINTING SOLUTION SOURCE MEANS MAY BE CONTROLLED TO SELECTIVELY ENGAGE AND DISENGAGE EACH OF THE PRINTING SOLUTION SOURCE MEANS AND ANNULAR TRANSFER MEANS THEREBY IN TURN CONTROLLING THE DEPOSIT OF PRINTING SOLUTION ON THE PLATE STRIP. 